by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP no. 4135C-S | Dec 28, 2025 | Alternative Medicine and Holistic Health, Discover + Heal + Grow: Taproot Therapy Collective Podcast Episodes, Jungian Therapy and Depth Psychology, Lifespan integration in Alabama, Symbolism and Meaning in Psychotherapy
For decades, mental health has been dominated by a “maintenance” model. We treat symptoms like mechanical failures: fix the serotonin levels, reframe the negative thought, smooth out the behavioral glitch. But for many clients, this approach feels like...
by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP no. 4135C-S | Dec 28, 2025 | Phenomenology and Existential Psychology, Psychology, Psychotherapy Biographies: Historical Figures in the History of Psychology
The Great Remembering: Why the Future of Psychotherapy is Just History Repeating Itself In the rush to modernize mental health treatment, the field of psychotherapy often suffers from a peculiar form of historical amnesia. We celebrate “new” modalities as...
by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP no. 4135C-S | Dec 26, 2025 | Alternative Medicine and Holistic Health, History of Psychotherapy, Psychology
The Dialectic of Spirit and Statistic The history of psychotherapy is often presented as a “Whig history”—a linear progression from the superstitious darkness of the past toward the illuminated scientific present. In this sanitized narrative, we move from...
by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP no. 4135C-S | Sep 21, 2025 | Psychology of Fiction / Flash Fiction / Screenwriting, Psychology of Film and TV, Psychology of Media and Culture
Thomas Pynchon reportedly said about Gravity’s Rainbow, though the quote may be apocryphal, “If I’d written this as nonfiction, the CIA would have killed me.” Whether real or invented, this captures what both Pynchon and Kojima understand:...
by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP no. 4135C-S | Jun 19, 2025 | Jungian Therapy and Depth Psychology, Psychotherapy Biographies: Historical Figures in the History of Psychology
Carl Jung remains an enduring subject of fascination, his life and ideas sparking impassioned debate over 60 years after his death. As the founder of analytical psychology, Jung pioneered the exploration of the unconscious mind, dream interpretation, archetypes, and...
by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP no. 4135C-S | Jun 2, 2025 | Brainspotting in Alabama: Revolutionary Trauma Therapy for Deep Healing, History of Psychotherapy
Socrates and the Daimon: The Ancient Shamanic Function Athens, 399 BCE. Socrates holds a cup of hemlock—poison that will kill him if he drinks it. His students beg him to flee; the guards would look the other way. He could escape to Thessaly and continue teaching....
by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP no. 4135C-S | Nov 5, 2024 | Anthropology and Evolutionary Psychology for Therapy, Comparative Religion for Therapy
Who are Timotheus Vermeulen and Robin van den Akker? In their seminal 2010 essay “Notes on Metamodernism”, cultural theorists Timotheus Vermeulen and Robin van den Akker outlined an emerging cultural paradigm they dubbed “metamodernism”....
by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP no. 4135C-S | Nov 4, 2024 | Comparative Religion for Therapy, Depth Psychology Approaches and Techniques, Jungian Therapy and Depth Psychology, Metamodernism and Deconstruction
Who is Christopher Partridge? Professor Christopher Partridge is a leading British religious studies scholar and social scientist whose work has profoundly influenced our understanding of alternative spirituality, popular culture, and contemporary religion. As...
by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP no. 4135C-S | Nov 4, 2024 | Metamodernism and Deconstruction, Philosophy for Therapists, Psychology, Psychology of Modernism Post Modernism and the Meta Modern
Who is Gianni Vattimo? In the ever-shifting landscape of contemporary thought, the work of Italian philosopher Gianni Vattimo offers a compelling lens through which to view the challenges and opportunities facing psychotherapy today. Born in 1936, Vattimo emerged as a...
by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP no. 4135C-S | Nov 4, 2024 | Metamodernism and Deconstruction, Phenomenology and Existential Psychology, Philosophy for Therapists
Who are Timotheus Vermeulen and Robin van den Akker? In their seminal 2010 essay “Notes on Metamodernism”, cultural theorists Timotheus Vermeulen and Robin van den Akker outlined an emerging cultural paradigm they dubbed “metamodernism”....
